Vengeance!
The fourth part of Les guerriers de l’hiver stood out to me more than the last two parts that I read, as it contributed to what I would describe to be a more human side of the story. In some ways, it reminded me a bit of the beginning of the novel, in which we are introduced to characters prior to and around the time of the start of the war. In the beginning, several characters are introduced to us. At the time, I envisioned a promising development of these characters throughout the narrative. Some of these characters were more interesting than others, or at least that’s my opinion. Nevertheless, the inclusion of different perspectives was compelling and I had high hopes. However in my last blog post, I emphasized my disappointment in the disappearance of two of them from the narrative; Azarov and Leena. But I am pleased to say that Leena has returned! And in this section of the novel, she does not just serve the role of the token girlfriend of a male main character, which is what I was worried she would become. Her boyfriend Toivo is shot and killed in combat. As a Lotta assigned to the infirmary, she is tasked with the duties of handling the bodies of fallen soldiers, one of which ends up being Toivo. Toivo’s death caught me completely by surprise. When I read the part of the narrative where he is shot and killed, I exclaimed aloud “Noooo! Toivo!”. I was sad. The three best friends that we are introduced to in the first chapter (Simo, Toivo and Onni) were inseparable. They were best friends in their adolescence. Once the war started, they fought in the same unit together. As readers, we witness these three young men growing together, as they go from spending meaningful moments together prior to the war, to facing the atrocities and horrors of the violent conflict that they are thrown into. However, once Toivo is killed, Simo develops a blood-thirsty rage and relentless desire for revenge. The first time Simo kills someone, he is disturbed and shaken up by the act of taking someone’s life. He has a lot of hesitation when it comes to committing this act. In order to be able to take human lives, he has to imagine that he is hunting animals in the forest, which he is in the habit of doing during hunting excursions with his father. After killing someone for the first time, he is portrayed as having a guilty conscience. He knows that the Soviet citizens are forced to fight in this war. Norek doesn’t shy away from depicting the human cost of war. Front-line soldiers are like pawns in a game of chess. They’re dispensable. At one point, Simo realizes that several Soviet soldiers were fighting while they were drunk, demonstrating how terrified they were, since they needed alcohol to be able to gain the courage to step foot out onto the battlefield. At times, Simo actually chooses to spare some of his enemies; those who he can tell are terrorized and absolutely terrified of death. However, as time goes on, he becomes desensitized to the taking of lives of Soviet soldiers. Simo essentially becomes a killing machine. He takes human lives in an automatic, mechanistic manner. And once Toivo is killed, he embarks on a vengeful mission for retribution. Killing becomes almost an obsession for him. The higher the kill count, the more satisfaction he gets. His transformation from the sweet boy, who we witness having tender moments with his family and friends at the beginning of the narrative, isn’t the same person that he used to be. He has become a monster. Perhaps “monster” is too harsh a word. I’ve never had one of my best friends killed in front of me. Who am I to comment on his blood-thirsty, vengeful reaction to the death of his friend?
War is ugly. It never paints a pretty picture. Instead, it paints a picture in blood—one where individuals are screaming in pain, but no one is listening to them.
Questions for the class: In your self-selected novel or in The Savage Detectives, how did you react when one of the characters died? Which aspect(s) of the narrative contributed to the formation of your attachment to that character, or to your lack of attachment to the character? Do you think that the death of a main character makes a novel more impactful?
Hi Carlina! As far as I remember, none of the characters in my novel have died. However, in The Savage Detectives, with what we think was a suicide mission for Arturo, I would say it didn’t feel like anything in particular, as I feel like I didn’t have that connection with his character to care enough, or maybe it’s just how the novel was written. I think whether the death of a character makes the novel impactful depends on the story being told and how important that character was.
Hi Carlina,
I’m glad to hear that Leena got to come back and play an important role!
So far, the only death that has happened during the course of my chosen novel was one that was explicitly built up to, so I definitely wasn’t shocked by it. I wasn’t too saddened, either, because this character had treated his son pretty badly leading up to that point. I think a main character’s death can definitely make a novel more impactful if the significance of their role is clear.